Last hurrah

Mark Fogarty, Sydney

IN THE pantheon of hero drivers, Craig Lowndes is a living legend whose exalted status has as much to do with his personality as his achievements in a 16-year V8 Supercars career that is still going strong.

He ranks as one of V8 racing's all-time greats more because of his effervescence, approachability and exciting driving style than his tally of championships and Bathurst 1000 victories.

Considerable as they are, his three titles - the last of which was in 1999 - and his five Bathurst trophies aren't close to the all-time marks.

But there is one record that Lowndes is set to exceed following his assisted come-from-way-behind victory in the first leg of the Sydney 500 on Saturday. It took the 38-year-old veteran's score to 89 wins, just one short of tying Mark Skaife's record total.

Lowndes can equal his former teammate and 2010 Bathurst co-winner in Sunday's deciding 74-lap, 250-kilometre race at the Sydney Olympic Park street circuit, but longer-term, his goal is to claim the race wins record in his own right.

''It's great to get closer to Skaifey's record, but, really, breaking the record is the thing I want to achieve,'' Lowndes said after becoming the first repeat winner at the Sydney 500 in the seven races since the inaugural event in 2009.

His talent, although overshadowed this season by Jamie Whincup's superiority in the sister Triple Eight Commodore, kept him in contention for much of the season and his latest win lifted him into second - albeit narrowly - in the championship.

Lowndes saved fuel - and face for Triple Eight - to come from way behind to win the crash-marred race, charging through from 16th on the grid after he and Whincup were caught out during the rain-affected morning qualifying session.

The victory moved him into second in the championship, overtaking Ford's Mark Winterbottom, who finished ninth after recovering from qualifying 25th despite a late-race pit stop to top up with fuel.